EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Employment, Education and Training
STATUTORY RULES 1987 NO. 304
STUDENT ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
OUTLINE
1. The Student Assistance Act 1973 (“the Act”) provides the legislative basis for AUSTUDY and for Post-graduate Awards. The present Statutory Rules amend the Student Assistance Regulations (“the Regulations”) that have been made under section 36 of the Act.
2. The amendments make the following changes:
(i) the income test does not apply to a scholarship for tuition fees at a secondary school;
(ii) the more rigorous test on educational assistance received by a student does not apply to:
• assistance provided by a government to the children of victims of a natural disaster or industrial accident;
• assistance provided for studies which do not attract AUSTUDY benefits;
(iii) receiving educational or vocational assistance from the Northern Territory Government does not render a student ineligible for AUSTUDY (as the receipt of such assistance from the Commonwealth would);
(iv) increases are provided for the rates of fares allowance payable where public transport is unavailable and students travel by private car;
(v) an educational supplement is to be payable to certain categories of students receiving the Social Security wife’s pension.
COMMENCEMENT
3. The changes are deemed to have taken effect from 1 January 1987, except for the amendment to be made by regulation 8.
4. The commencement date for regulation 8 is 4 December 1986, the date on which the Public Service allowance for officers using their own cars on official business was varied by Public Service Board Determination 1986/91. This is because the level of AUSTUDY fares allowance modified by regulation 8 is based on the Australian Public Service allowance.
5. The proposed amendments are subject to a non-reduction clause, regulation 9, which prevents the amendments from reducing a student’s entitlements for the year 1987, although this is not expected to be the case as the amendments are all seen as being beneficial.
NOTES ON REGULATIONS
Regulation 1: Commencement
6. Regulation 1 provides for commencement dates. Regulation 8 (which concerns fares allowance) will be deemed to come into effect on 4 December 1986, in accordance with Public Service Board Determination 1986/91. The other amendments will come into effect on 1 January 1987.
Regulation 2: Principal Regulations
7. Regulation 2 provides that the Student Assistance Regulations are to be referred to as the “Principal Regulations”.
Regulation 3: Interpretation - Part III
8. Regulation 3 amends existing regulation 29, which defines expressions used in Part III of the Principal Regulations. The amendment modifies the definition of “income” to exclude any assistance under a scholarship towards tuition fees at a secondary school.
Regulation 4: Ineligibility - benefit from the Commonwealth for education or vocational training
9. Regulation 4 amends existing regulation 33, which provides that a student is ineligible under AUSTUDY if he or she is receiving other Commonwealth assistance for education or vocational training. The amendment provides that the exclusion does not apply to assistance provided by the Northern Territory Government, or to assistance for the children of victims of a natural disaster or an industrial accident.
Regulation 5: Living allowance - students of independent status
Regulation 6: Living allowance - students not of independent status
10. Regulations 5 and 6 amend existing regulations 41 and 42, respectively. Regulation 41 provides for the income test for independent students, and regulation 42 provides for the income test for non-independent students. They provide that a student’s income from educational assistance is income tested more rigorously than is other income. The effect of regulations 5 and 6 is that the less rigorous income test is to apply to:
• assistance provided by a State or Territory government to the children of victims of a natural disaster or industrial accident;
• assistance provided for studies which do not attract AUSTUDY benefits (ie any studies other than full-time studies in a course approved for AUSTUDY purposes).
11. Regulations 5 and 6 omit the references to AUSTUDY in the former regulations 41(7) (a) and 42(17) (a). These references were not needed because a student’s AUSTUDY benefits necessarily cannot be taken into account in determining his or her entitlement under the scheme.
Regulation 7: Schedule 3A
12. Schedule 3A of the Regulations lists pensions that cannot be received concurrently with normal AUSTUDY living allowance. An education supplement of $15 a week is, however, payable if the pension is listed in Part II of the Schedule. (See regulation 43.)
13. A wife’s pension under the Social Security Act was formerly listed in Part I of Schedule 3A, so that the education supplement was not payable to a student receiving such a pension. Regulation 7 modifies this so that the education supplement is payable where a student is receiving a Social Security wife’s pension and her husband is receiving an invalid pension.
Regulation 8: Schedule 6
14. Regulation 8 amends Schedule 6 of the Regulations, which specifies the rates of fares allowance payable where public transport is unavailable and a student travels by private motor vehicle. The amendment increases the rates payable to take account of changes in the comparable Australian Public Service allowance.
Regulation 9: Non-reduction
15. Regulation 9 is a non-reduction provision. It will prevent a student’s entitlement for the year 1987 from being adversely affected by the changes made to the AUSTUDY rules by these amendments.